The panelists dance festival 2014

INAUGURAL SEASON OF DANCE MARCH 6 T0 9 , 2014 TH

TH

REGISTRATION OPEN

$20 - One Workshop $45 - Three Workshops $40 - All Day Spectator

$140 - All Workshops & Symposia

MEET THE CHOREOGRAPHERS, PANELLISTS & WORKSHOP FACILITATORS CALL 417-4776 OR VISIT WWW.CAVEHILL.UWI.EDU/EBCCI FOR MORE INFORMATION

CAITLIN SNELSON

CHRISTINA SEARS ETTER

Caitlin Snelson is a student in her second year at Vanderbilt Law School and is a graduate of Florida State University with a B.A. in Classical Civilizations and a B.A. in Greek and Latin. Caitlin has been involved with dance her entire life through technique, performance, arts advocacy and teaching. She is a certified teacher in Scottish Highland dance through the British Association of Teachers of Dancing and is a member of the National Dance Educators Organization. Currently at Vanderbilt, she is working Professor Daniel Gervais on a supervised research project concerning copyright protections of choreography in the digital age.

Christina Sears-Etter, MFA, is a performer, choreographer and educator with professional experience in many forms of dance, including modern, tap, jazz, improvisational performance and site-specific work. She is Artistic Director of People Dancing since 2000, and teaches in the community and in higher education. She earned a BA from University of Michigan. She danced and choreographed professionally in New York City and London, UK. Later she returned to study at State University of New York, earning an MFA degree in Choreography and Performance.

Danielle L. Harris has graduated cum laude with a B.A. in both Dance and Education from Hunter College University of New York. She has also been a student in the Ailey School’s professional division program, and has created the dance program at Secondary School for Law using her training in Ballet, Modern, African, and Hip-hop in her curriculum.

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DANIELLE HARRIS

Danielle has been a dancer the Rod Rodgers Dance Company since summer 2009, has served as a backup dancer for Soca artist Alison Hinds, and a performer for Disney. She is currently a scholarship student in the inaugural Dance Education Graduate Program at Hunter College University of New York.

Ian Douglas is an established name in the dance world as an independent international dance artist. He is a Founder of the Ian Douglas foundation, (IDF), former Dance Officer of the National Cultural Foundation Barbados and former chair of World Dance Alliance (WDA) task force of Africa. his vast knowledge and experience as a cultural theorist, researcher and social philosopher. Artistically, Ian Douglas is a director and International choreographer, dance administrator, filmmaker and social entrepreneur. Douglas grew up in Barbados, between the beauty and sharp contrast of Barbadian society. During the early 1970's connected to the vibrancy of the arts shared at the Parkinson school, where (the dance) seemed much more willingly acceptable than (the drum). The instrument seemed at that time to evoke memories of our colonial past in the minds of many, which no one wanted to talk about, engage in debate or even remotely address.

IAN DOUGLAS

JOHN HUNTE

NO PICTURE AVAILABLE

KATHRYN AUSTIN

John Hunte MFA (Performing Arts Management) is an accomplished dancer and arts activist and currently serves as Cultural Officer - Dance at the National Cultural Foundation. He is also a PhD candidate in the cultural studies programme in the Faculty of Humanities and Education at the Cave Hill, Barbados Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI). His thesis is called Beyond the Silence: Men, Dance and Masculinity in the Caribbean focusing this study through the lens and perception of men who dance onstage and looking at where dance and masculinity intersect. Appreciating the broader narratives that exist for dance and culture in the Caribbean, Mr. Hunte seeks to explore the complexities and nuances that exist in Barbados, to demystify the notion that Barbados has no distinct culture outside of Englishness.

Jorge Luis Morejón has done theatre, opera, dance and performance art. He has a BA in Special Education from Florida International University and an MA in Liberal Studies from University of Miami. He took graduate courses in Expressive Arts Therapy at European Graduate School, Switzerland, and did doctoral work in Theatre Studies at York University, Toronto. He is a Performance Studies Ph.D. graduate from the University of California, Davis. He studies Dance Movement Therapy as part of the American Dance Therapy Association Alternate Route Program, New York City. Currently he is a lecturer in the Department of Creative and Festival Arts, University of the West Indies, Saint Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.

Kathryn Austin has a BFA in Dance Performance from Florida State, an MA in Dance from the University of Hawai'i and is completing her PhD at Florida Atlantic in Fine and Performing Arts. She is a Registered Dance Educator and a former recipient of the Dance Educator of the Year Award by the NDEO. Austin is a Fellow of the British Association of Teachers of Dancing and a teacher and coach of recreational and competitive Scottish Highland Dancers. She is the owner and director of the Centre for Dance & the Performing Arts, a full service dance education facility dedicated to age-appropriate dance studies that support whole-child development. Austin is a Board Member of Dance and the Child International-USA and has been an frequent presenter at Dance Organization Conferences throughout the United States for the past 20 years.

Laura Donnelly, MFA, is a choreographer, teacher, and dancer who also writes and creates

LAURA DONNELLY

community based public art involving visual and word art. An Assistant Professor of Dance at Kansas State University, her research interests include pedagogy, oral tradition in dance, collaborative process, music for dance, and the Alexander Technique. Her research has been presented at the Congress on Research in Dance, the International Association of Dance Science and Medicine, the National Dance Education Association, the Hawaii International Conference on Arts & Humanities, the 5th Annual International Conference on Civic Education, and the University of New Mexico Mentoring Conference (2011-13).

Donnelly’s article Dance Technique a Basis for Lifelong Learning will appear in an upcoming issue of the new Chinese/English magazine All in One. Her essay Meditation in the Dance Studio is published in Teaching with Joy: Educational Practices for the Twenty-First Century, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

LISA SANDLOS

MATT CARNEY

Lisa Sandlos has been a faculty member of York University’s Department of Dance and School of Kinesiology and Health Sciences for over twelve years. She is currently pursuing her Ph D in the School of Women’s Studies at York.

Sandlos holds an M.A. in Dance and certificates in Laban Movement Analysis from the Laban Institute of Movement Studies (LIMS) and Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). She has a diploma in dance from George Brown College and she is a graduate of the School of Toronto Dance Theatre Professional Training Program.

Sandlos has taught modern dance and creative movement to all ages and levels for over 20 years, working extensively in the public schools through the Ontario Arts Council’s Artists in Education program, the National Ballet of Canada’s Creating Dances program, the Toronto District School Board’s Drama/Dance Project and the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Learning through the Arts.

Since moving to San Diego, CA, Matt hit the ground running working concurrently as an artist and non-profit administrator. With Hostelling International USA, San Diego he served as Educational Programs Manager and Volunteer Coordinator providing Arts and Culture educational programming to youth in the San Diego Area including Tijuana. He currently serves as dancer and administrator with San Diego Ballet and San Diego Dance Theatre, is on faculty in the dance division at Coronado School for the Arts, and is always working on some choreographic project. He is involved with many clubs and organizations including: International Dance Council, Member; American Society of Public Administration, Member; Art Miles Mural Project, Advisory Board Member. Mr. Carney has earned a Certificate in British & American Intelligence & Security from the University of Cambridge-England, Corpus Christ College, a Certificate in Fund Raising Management, Indiana University’s Center for Philanthropy, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, University of MissouriKansas City’s Conservatory of Music and Dance and is currently pursuing his Master in Public Administration at San Diego State University focusing on flow of communication, organizational structure, and fiscal sustainability.

Neri Torres, a native of Cuba, is the founder and Artistic Director of IFE-ILE AfroCuban Dance Company in Miami, FL, a non-profit organization committed to the sharing and promotion of Afro-Cuban dance. Born in Havana, Cuba Ms. Torres is trained in modern, ballet, contemporary movement and traditional cultural dance forms. She holds an MFA in dance and a minor in film from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Ms. Torres has taught at the University of Miami, Florida International University, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Company, Miami Dade College, University of Miami and currently, at the University of West Indies in Barbados among other institutions.

Neri Torres and her dance company IFE-ILE toured extensively around the world.

From 1996-2001, Ms. Torres toured as principal dancer and choreographer for Gloria Estefan. As an actress and personality, Neri has worked in the movies: “For Love or Country” with actors Andy Garcia and Charles Dutton, “The Lost City” directed by Andy Garcia, which she also choreographed.

NERI TORRES In March 2013, Neri received the State of Florida Folk Heritage Award from Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner for her significant contributions to Florida’ s cultural heritage through her outstanding achievements as a performer, teacher and advocate of Afro-Cuban traditional dance. Other awards include an Individual Fellowship and Certificate of Artistic Merit from the State of Florida and a Proclamation by the City of Miami for artistic contributions to the community of Miami. She is also a cultural ambassador who has performed and choreographed shows in dozens of countries. In 2000, Glamour magazine named Neri Torres "Woman of the Year".

NIURCA MÁRQUEZ

Niurca Márquez (1976) has an extensive dance background that bridges two continents.

She holds a BA in Dance, a BA in Spanish, an MA in Cultural Studies and has trained professionally both in the US and Spain. In addition to dancing and choreographing for various Flamenco companies, she has also worked in other dance forms such as AfroCuban and Contemporary Dance with choreographers like Susana Yamuchi (Brazil). She has been a guest lecturer at institutions of higher learning and conferences, developed curriculum for a global perspective in dance and utilizing dance as a bridge for area studies, developed teacher-training workshops and has been an Artist-in-Residence at the University of Kansas and Keene State College. Her current research is on “Flamenco Contemporaneo”, an experimental contemporary movement in Flamenco that seeks to explore the essence of the art form and its relevance to contemporary society. She is the only US based artist recognized as a member of said group and later this month she will debut “The History House,” a work that pushes the boundaries of Flamenco to new limits and searches for a space of inter-media, blurring disciplinary lines beyond recognition.

Nzinga Metzger is an anthropologist and historian whose academic background

includes a B.A. in history from Florida State University, an M.A. in history from Temple University and a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from Florida State University.

NZINGA METZGER

Over her years of study, Dr. Metzger’s holistic approach to obtaining knowledge has led to her ongoing growth and development as a scholar, folklorist and artist.

Complimentarily to her scholarly work, Ms. Metzger has been a student of traditional West African dance since 1991, and a student of Afro Cuban Lucumí folkloric forms since 1996, studying with such artistic stalwarts as master bàtá player and deceased Pew artist Greg ‘Peachy’ Jarman, and Olufemi DeWindt, a renowned akpón from New York from whom she continues to study.

Currently Dr. Metzger continues to add to her library of interviews and oral histories of òrìsà devotees in the U.S. and teach community dance. She is currently a visiting professor of anthropology at Florida A&M University.

RAINY DEMERSON

ROSELLA MOLINU

Rainy Demerson received an MA in Dance Education 2012 and holds a BA in World Arts and Cultures with a Dance Concentration from UCLA. She taught Dance and Yoga throughout New York City public schools in after-school programs and residencies for five years before earning her NY State teaching license. From there, she spearheaded an Intercultural Dance program at MS 267 in Brooklyn. She taught at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO and is currently a tenure-track Assistant Professor at El Paso Community College in Texas. In 2013 her article, "Beginner's Mind: Applying the Zen Practice of Soshin to Best Practices in Dance Education," was published in the Journal of Dance Education. “Teaching Dances of the African Diaspora: an Emancipatory Intercultural Approach,” appears in the the Journal of Emerging Dance Scholarship by the World Dance Alliance. Dedicated to gaining a first-hand understanding of culture in context, Rainy has studied dance in Indonesia, Cuba, Brazil and Senegal. She has produced her contemporary choreography in Senegal and in New York with her company Sacred Space Dance.

Her work can be seen at www.vimeo.com/rainydemerson.

Rosella Molinu is a dancer, anthropologist and childhood educator. Born on an island at the crossroad between Africa, Europe and the Arabic world, her identity and artistic production has always been a mosaic of many worlds.

Molinu’s artistic journey began when she graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in her home of Sardinia, Italy, with a degree in the Fine Arts/Painting. Soon after, a chance encounter with Capoeira changed both her artistic expression and her life. Always seeking to enhance her broad experience of the magical mix of dance, music and fine arts, while still in Italy, Ms. Molinu studied ballet, contemporary and African dance, along with Djembe drumming, Molinu has also lived, managed a business and researched dance in Indonesia.

She studied Capoeira Angola in Brazil (where she graduated in Dance from the Governmental School of the State of Bahia) and currently lives in New York City, USA. Molinu earned a double major BA in Dance and Anthropology, has danced with Trinidad & Tobago based dance company “Something Positive”, with whom she performed in prestigious venues such as BAM and Lincoln Center, and has studied and performed traditional Haitian Vodun dances with Mona Estime’ Amira for almost a decade. These in-depth studies became the subject of her Master thesis in Anthropology

Sally Crawford

Sally Crawford achieved a BFA in Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

She earned her MA in Choreography at Laban in London. She also spent a year training at the Scottish School of Contemporary Dance in Dundee, Scotland. She is completing her PhD in Dance Ethnography at De Montfort University in Leicester.

Her research focusses on ethnographic studies of tap dance communities in London and Manchester, England. Sally choreographed and performed for theatre and dance companies in Kansas City and the United Kingdom. She has lectured in colleges and universities in London, Liverpool, and the Midlands. Sally delivered guest lectures at institutions in England such as De Montfort University and the Royal Academy of Dance. She presents regularly at international conferences and is a member of Dance UK, Society for Dance Research, Society for Dance History Scholars, Congress on Research in Dance, and International Dance Council. Sally is currently lecturing in the Department of Creative and Festival Arts at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad.

Nai-Whedai Sheriff, founder of Urban Dance & Company, has been performing, teaching and choreographing dances for over 20 years. She s tarted her training in NY in Modern dance and Afro-Caribbean movement.

During her dance training, Nai-whedai received her Bachelors in Business and a Masters of Science in Organizational Psychology from Baruch College, City University of New York. Professionally, her talents include teaching Hip Hop, Street funk, liturgical movement, and competitive dance. While living in Pennsylvania, she coached and choreographed for many dance studios, after school programs and pre-professional dance programs including University of the Arts and Neumann University. Nai-whedai Sheriff has danced with companies such as Something Positive in NY and Kariamu & Company in Philadelphia as she completes her Masters in Dance Education from Temple University this May 2014. Her mission is to create opportunities for individuals

NAI-WHEDAI

YVONNE JONES GOODRIDGE

Yvonne Jones Goodridge is the Professor of Dance at Barry University in Miami Florida. Prof. Goodridge is a scholar, educator, and performing artist who has been teaching and working in the field for over 20 years. Mrs. Goodridge holds a BFA degree in Dance from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, and the MA in Dance Education from Columbia University, Teachers College. Yvonne Goodridge has been the choreographer, writer, producer and artistic director of numerous dance and drama concert performances at Barry University and throughout the Miami community.

Recently Professor Goodridge was Co-Choreographer and Co-Executive Producer of the music video Body Movur, which is presently on MTV artist and other global video networks. Currently she is choreographing for the Spring Dance Concert, Bitter Sweet at Barry University.

Yvonne is Director of Norland United Methodist Church Dance Ministry in Miami and has been honored in “Legacy” (a news business publication) as one of South Florida’s Top Black Educational Leaders for 2013.

Yulanda Knights received a B.F.A. in Dance Performance and Education from Towson University and a Masters of Arts in Dance Education from the Hunter College Arnhold Dance Education Program. She has had the privilege to work with many great artists including Geoffrey Holder and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar.

Yulanda danced with the Stephanie Powell DanseEnsemble for four years, performing at venues such as The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Dance Space, The Baltimore Museum of Art, and the The Hippodrome Theater. .Yulanda is currently the Director of Dance at the Urban Assembly School for the Performing Arts in NY. She is also a co-planner and teacher for Arts in Motion Africa, with whom she has brought the joy of dance to children in Africa for two summers, 2012-13. A co-creator of the Arts Achieve citywide high school assessments for the NYC Department of Education, Yulanda looks forward to all of the possibilities her future holds.

YULANDA KNIGHTS

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

YVONNE DANIEL

Yvonne Daniel is Professor Emerita of Dance and AfroAmerican Studies from Smith College. She taught dance technique and anthropology and is a specialist in Circum-Caribbean societies, cross-cultural dance performance, and social inequality. Her books include: Rumba: Dance and Social Change in Contemporary Cuba (1995), Dancing Wisdom: Embodied Knowledge in Haitian Vodou, Cuban Yoruba, and Bahian Candomblé (2005, which won the de la Torre Bueno prize for best dance research 2006 from the Society for Dance History Scholars), and Caribbean and Atlantic Diaspora Dance: Igniting Citizenship (2011). She has published numerous juried articles, solicited chapters, and encyclopedia entries, and has produced four documentary videos on dance and African-based religions. She has been a Ford Foundation Fellow (1991-92), a Rockefeller Fellow (200506), and a Visiting Scholar at the Women’s Leadership Institute of Mills College, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Center for Black Music Research in Chicago. Earlier in her career, Dr. Daniel performed with the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional of Cuba and as Guest Artist for a few Latin American dance companies. Over the years, she choreographed and staged many original works that reflected her research.

Dr. Daniel received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley (1989) after completing a B.A. in Music (piano) at California State University at Hayward (1972) and an M.A. in Dance at Mills College (1975). She has four sons and ten grandchildren.

A LIVING PUBLICATION OF THE ERROL BARROW CENTRE FOR CREATIVE IMAGINATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES CAVE HILL CAMPUS © 2014